Beach Day

Ava has been asking for a long time to go to the beach.  She normally adds, "...to spend the night."  Going for the day will have to do.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  The water was clear, no jelly fish and there was a breeze that kept us from burning up.  There was a wonderful sand bar that wasn't too far from the shore that we would walk out to.  It also created a "pool" that Ava was able to swim in.  She loved every minute of it.  Nora was content to play in the sand for most of the time.

Kevin, Ava and Nora spent a while digging in the wet sand....until...

...he discovered this.  

The beach is still gorgeous and doesn't smell like oil so for a little bit, we forgot about the tragedy that occurred.  In the powder sand or in the water, there wasn't evidence of oil.  We did see a few tarballs but they were few and far between.  It was in the wet sand that it was all hiding.  It was sticky on Kevin's hands and all over Nora's legs.  We were able to clean it off without a problem.  It will not keep us from going again and the beach was filled with families enjoying themselves.  It just made us sad and reminded us of the horrible spill that will effect us for years.  

Now this....is our favorite past time.  We have a crab apple tree that has become the best free entertainment.  Ava will ask to go throw crab apples and Nora will just point to her chair or the tree and get excited.  They sit and throw them down the driveway and see who can get them to go across the street.  This will be one of our favorite memories.  Who knew a crab apple could be so much fun!

Pictures of Ava's first soccer game will come soon!